19 Dec 2019; MEMO: The Head of the Sebastia Diocese of the Greek Orthodox Church in Jerusalem Archbishop Atallah Hanna was reportedly hospitalised yesterday after being poisoned by chemical substances, according to Quds TV.
Reports said the Archbishop was rushed to hospital after an Israeli gas canister was fired into his church in Jerusalem. He is expected to make a full recovery.
BEIRUT (Reuters) - Outgoing Lebanese Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri arrived at the presidential palace on Thursday as formal consultations began to designate a new premier, live television footage showed.
Senior political sources said former education minister Hassan Diab looks set to be designated to the position with the backing of factions including the Iran-backed Shi’ite group Hezbollah.
Hariri, who is aligned with the West and Gulf Arab states, resigned on Oct. 29, prompted by protests against the ruling elite.
BAGHDAD, Dec. 19 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. forces on Thursday conducted an operation and captured a leader of a paramilitary Sunni tribal fighters over participating in rocket attack on an air base housing U.S. troops in Iraq's western province of Anbar, an official and a security sources said.
TEHRAN, Dec 19 (NNN-TASNIM) – Iran threatened to further reduce its commitments to the 2015 landmark nuclear deal, if the European Union (EU) “keeps failing” to protect the Islamic republic’s interest.
Iran’s move to reduce commitments under the nuclear deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), results from the U.S. unilateral exit from the deal, and the EU’s “inaction” in this regard, Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, Ali Shamkhani was quoted as saying.
AMMAN, Dec 19 (NNN-PETRA) – France signed some agreements with Jordan, agreeing to provide the latter with a total of 250 million euros (277 million U.S. dollars) in soft loans.
The soft loans will be used to develop the judiciary and water sectors, and reconstruct the sewage system in Balqa governorate, said Jordan’s Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation.
The first agreement entails a soft loan of 150 million euros, to fund the development of the water sector.
MANILA, Philippines (AP) — A Philippine court on Thursday found key members of a powerful political clan guilty of a 2009 massacre in a southern province that left 57 people, including 32 media workers, dead in a brazen execution-style attack that horrified the world.
Judge Jocelyn Solis-Reyes acquitted several members of the Ampatuan family and police officers, citing a lack of evidence. Families of the victims and media watchdogs welcomed the convictions but said the fight for justice was far from over.
18 Dec 2019; MEMO: Israeli occupation authorities have allowed Gaza farmers to export strawberries to European countries and Gulf States, news agencies reported yesterday.
Palestinian farmers from Gaza exported five tonnes of strawberries to the UK yesterday through Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion International Airport, the Jerusalem Post said.
18 Dec 2019; MEMO: Iraq has paid back more than $20 billion in foreign debt, the head of the parliamentary finance committee Haitham Al-Jubouri said on Monday.
“Iraq’s foreign debt amounted to more than $50 billion. More than $20 billion was paid back over the last period,” Al-Jubouri told the Iraqi news agency.
TEHRAN, December 18. /TASS/: The situation continues deteriorating in Afghanistan where the Islamic State terror group (outlawed in Russia) has been establishing its foothold, Russian Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev said on Wednesday.
18 Dec 2019; MEMO: The UAE hired a US lobbying firm to convince Senators to impose sanctions on Turkey, the Anadolu Agency revealed.
The news agency said it had obtained an email sent by Charles Johnson, a partner at Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP lobbying group, that was sent a week after the House of Representatives passed its own sanctions legislation on Turkey.
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